Alchemy
by NineCentsChange
Summary: Hazel Higgsbury and Marcus Carter had been rivals from the moment they'd met at summer camp. But when their siblings get into trouble and they're forced to work together, nothing could have prepared them for what would happen next. Reviews and feedback are greatly appreciated!
1. Chapter 1

**Hello once again everyone! It feels like ages since I've started a new story! To clear up any confusion, here's a bit of info on who these characters are:**

 **Marcus Carter is the son of William Carter and Charlie. He belongs to filius-umbra-finis on , who's a really awesome roleplayer and was very kind to let me write a story using her OC. Marcus is 14 years old in this story, and he has younger twin sisters, Dorothy and Amelia, who are ten.**

 **Hazel Higgsbury is the daughter of Wilson and Willow. She is 15 years old, and she has a younger brother named Finn who's 11.**

 **Now, on with the story!**

* * *

"Do I _really_ need to go?"

"Marcus, we've gone over this." Charlie gave her son a look as she set his suitcase on top of his bed. "You can't spend your entire summer indoors. The fresh air will be good for you."

"But a _summer camp_?" He raised his arms in exasperation.

She raised an eyebrow at him. "And what's wrong with a summer camp? Your sisters are going."

"Of course they are, they love the outdoors. They'll be in their element there." He brought his hands to his chest. "Me? Not so much."

As if on cue, two young girls came bursting into the room, dragging two matching suitcases behind them.

"WHOO! Camping!" One of them shouted.

Charlie smiled. "Hello you two. Almost ready?"

"Almost!" The other girl replied, then jumped onto Marcus's bed.

Marcus sighed in exasperation. "Mia, what did I tell you two about barging into my room like that?"

"What?" Amelia flopped on her back, looking at him upside down. "Mom's in here."

Her twin sister, Dorothy, leaned on the foot of the bed. "And your door was open."

He pinched the bridge of his nose. He was never going to learn his lesson when arguing with two ten-year-old girls.

Charlie glanced at him, then back at her daughters. "Girls, why don't you go see if your father needs help getting the car ready?"

They were both back on their feet in an instant. "Sure! Let's go!" Amelia chirped as they grabbed their luggage and darted back out of the door as quickly as they had come.

Marcus stared at the door momentarily, then back at his mother. "You see?" He motioned to the open doorway. "They're way more cut-out for this kind of thing than I am."

Charlie leaned forward and brought her hand underneath his chin. "Marcus, I know this will be something that's out of your comfort zone, but your father and I really, _really_ think that this outing will be good for you. Even if you don't believe me now."

He sighed. The truth was, he didn't believe her, but he wasn't about to say that aloud. "Okay…"

She smiled. "I know you can do it. It's just for one month. Then, you can do whatever you want for the rest of the summer." She brushed his dark, messy hair out of his face. "Besides, it's either that or working as a stagehand at the theater."

"I know." He didn't care much for the idea of working at that theater for his whole summer. "I think I'll stick with the summer camp."

She smiled again. "Good." She kissed his forehead, then turned and walked towards the door. "Don't forget, you need to be all ready and packed by tonight. We're leaving first thing tomorrow morning."

He watched her enter the hallway and disappear around the corner, then flopped face-down on his bed, sighing into the sheets. He was _not_ looking forward to being gone for an entire month.

Charlie sighed to herself and shook her head slightly as she walked down the hallway and towards their open front door.

Her husband, William, was currently in the front yard helping Dorothy and Amelia put their suitcases into the trunk of their car. He'd just finished putting the last piece of luggage in the back when Charlie came out to join them.

"Ah, there you are." He smiled as she came up to them.

"Thanks for the help, Dad!" Dorothy grinned as she and her sister trotted back towards the house. "We're gonna go get our backpacks now!"

Charlie glanced back at them as they ran past her, then back at William.

He took her hands in his. "So, were you able to talk with him?"

She shrugged and nodded. "Yes, I was." She sighed. "He's reluctant, but he said he'll go."

He nodded in return. "Good. His sisters were looking forward to him coming with them. I didn't want to crush their spirits."

She smiled. "Speaking of which, we'd better go see if they need any help." She took his hand in her and led him back into the house.

* * *

"Lantern?"

"Check."

"Mosquito spray?"

"Check, again."

"What about sunscreen, bedsheets, and hiking boots?"

"Check, check, and check." Finn made a few more notes on the list in his hand, before handing it back to his older sister, Hazel. "I'm pretty sure that's everything."

Hazel quickly skimmed the list in her hands. "I think so too." She folded the list, then turned back to her own suitcase. "Ugh, stupid thing." She climbed on top of it, trying to compress it as much as possible.

Finn watched as he picked up his own suitcase. "Are you sure you didn't pack too much stuff?"

"Hey, it never hurts to be prepared." Hazel shot him a look as she worked on fastening the latches on her luggage. "Mom taught us everything she knows about being a girl scout." She climbed back down from her suitcase. "If a natural disaster happens while we're at camp, we'll be ready."

He rolled his eyes. "I know. She gave us badges, remember?"

She smirked at him. "You mean the ones you keep in your room to remind you that you're an honorary girl scout?"

His cheeks turned pink. "W-well, it's not like I'm gonna throw them away!" He sighed. "You promise you won't tell anyone at camp that?"

She laughed and punched him lightly on the shoulder. "Promise, lil' bro." She picked up her suitcase. "Now come on, let's get these things out to the car."

They had made halfway down the staircase when their father climbed down the ladder from his lab in the attic. "Ah, there are the campers now!" He stated enthusiastically as he removed the safety goggles from his face. "You two almost done packing?"

"Almost, dad." Hazel replied as she dragged her suitcase down the steps.

"Ah, good, good!" Wilson trotted down the steps after his kids. "You two are going to have so much fun there. It'll be the perfect opportunity to put your camping skills to good use!"

"Mm-hm." Finn made a sound as he pulled his luggage down onto the floor from the last step.

Wilson followed them down and towards the front door. "Also, if you happen to see any tree frog while you're out there, feel free to collect some! I've been meaning to study those creatures for quite some time now."

Hazel sighed to herself. "We know."

"Wilson, they're going to camp to have fun over the summer, not fuel your strange experiments." Willow stated as she appeared around the corner.

Wilson turned to his wife. "Ah, I didn't even see you there, dearest!" He took her hand in his. "And for the record, I was simply suggesting that they collect some frogs if they happen to see any."

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say, mister. But if you're going to be dissecting those things, I don't want to hear about it."

He gave her a smile. "Wouldn't dream of it. Now, how about we help those two get their luggage out to the car?"

"We're already out here!" Finn's voice echoed from the front yard.

Both parents paused and looked in the direction of his voice.

Wilson blinked. "Ah, right. Let's get going."

* * *

"It says here that Mountain Meadow Ranch is a family-owned summer camp located in the Sierra Nevada Mountains." Amelia read the camp's brochure aloud in the car as they drove.

Marcus leaned up against the car window, watching as their hometown became nothing but a speck in the distance.

Amelia flipped to the next page. "its activities include fishing, arts and crafts, archery, and horseback riding."

Dorothy gasped excitedly. "We can ride horses?" She leaned across the seats. "Hey Marcus, would you wanna ride a horse with us?"

Marcus averted his gaze from the window to glance at her. "Uh, I'm not really much of a horse person. I mean, I've never ridden one before." He paused. "Wait a minute, have _you two_ ever ridden a horse?"

Dorothy leaned back. "Wellll, not really. Unless you count the pony rides we went on for our eighth birthday!"

Marcus fought the urge to shudder. He didn't ride that day, but he was stuck with a pony who liked to nibble. A lot. Ponies freaked him out enough as it was, and something told him an entire horse would not be any better.

Eventually, the camp came into sight. They pulled up into the gravel parking lot, and got to work getting the luggage out.

Marcus dragged his suitcase out of the trunk as he looked about. Campers and parents were bustling everywhere, gathering luggage, seeing their parents off, and making their way into the ranch.

William stepped out of the car. "Well kids, here we are."

Dorothy and Amelia already had a map out and were studying it closely.

"What kind of monsters you think we'll find here?" Amelia asked her sister.

"Probably all sorts of scary ones, especially if we look around in the woods here." Dorothy drew a large circle around the forests outside the camp.

William knelt down. "Alright you two, don't forget you're also here to spend time at the camp itself, and not just looking for monsters outside of it."

"We know, dad!" Amelia replied as they folded the map up.

He smiled. "Good. Now have fun, and don't drive the counselors too insane."

"Got it!" They replied in unison. They were about to turn and run into the camp, then when suddenly turned back to their father.

"Hugs!" Dorothy chirped as they practically tackled William. "Love you, Dad!"

William wrapped his arms around them. "I love you too."

After they released him, they trotted over to Charlie, who knelt down for a hug as well.

"Love you, Mom!" Amelia grinned.

Charlie laughed. "I love you girls too." She kissed them both. "Have fun, okay?"

"We will!" They replied in unison once again, then turned to carry their luggage into the camp. "Bye!"

Charlie and William waved, then turned to Marcus, who was still standing next to the car, looking much more reluctant to leave.

Charlie walked up to him. "Marcus, I have only one request." She put her hands on his shoulders. "You will talk to at least one person here, and you sisters don't count."

He sighed, and gave her a half-hearted smile. "Okay."

"You'd best listen to your mother, son." William strolled up behind them.

Marcus glanced at him. "I know."

Charlie gave him a hug. "Have fun, okay? And don't forget to write."

"I know, Mom." He leaned down to pick up his suitcase. "I better go find my Dorothy and Mia before they get too far."

"I know, you should." Charlie stepped back and took her husband's arm. "See you in a month, sweetie."

Marcus managed his best smile as he waved and walked into the camp after his sisters.

* * *

"So where do you think camp orientation is?" Dorothy flipped through the camp brochure.

"Dunno." Amelia looked around them. "It said we were supposed to find the cabins we were assigned to first, and then they'd start orientation after that."

"How're we supposed to find that out?"

"Beats me. Maybe we'll have to ask someone." Amelia glanced around her for any counselors, then stopped.

Sitting on the steps of a cabin was a young girl, about Dorothy and Amelia's age. She had thick, red hair that was braided into a ponytail behind her back. Her large, brown eyes glanced around occasionally, as if she were looking for someone, but mostly remained focused on the ground.

"She looks sad…" Amelia said softly, taking her sister's arm to get her attention.

"Hm?" Dorothy looked up from the brochure to see what Amelia was looking at. "Oh…"

She looked to her sister. "Wanna go say hi?"

Dorothy smiled back. "That's exactly what I was thinking!"

They trotted up to the cabin's steps together, and put on their best smiles. "Hello!"

The young red head seemed slightly taken by surprise by the two girls greeting her. "H-hello."

"We saw you sitting over here by yourself…" Dorothy began.

"So we thought we'd stop and say hi!" Amelia finished. "My name's Amelia."

"And I'm Dorothy!"

The girl glanced at them back and forth, then reached out her hand to shake with them. "…I'm Aimée."

"Aimée?" Amelia repeated as she sat down on the steps next to her. "That sounds kinda French."

Aimée nodded. "Mm-hm, it's the French version of 'Amy.' My family lives in Paris, but my mom is from America."

The mention of Paris immediately made Dorothy's eye light up. "Really? I love Paris! I've always wanted to travel there!"

Amelia nodded. "We live in America, but our dad's British, so we can relate."

Aimée sat up a little, and glanced between the two of them again. "So… are you two twins?"

"Nah, she's just my stunt-double." Dorothy motioned to Amelia next to her.

Aimée stared at them, tilting her head to the side.

"…Yes, we're twins." Amelia added.

Aimée stared at them a moment longer. "Oh! You were making a joke! I'm sorry, I didn't realize…"

Dorothy put a hand on her shoulder. "It's totally fine! Hey, you wanna come to orientation with us?"

Aimée smiled. "I'd love to. Where is it?"

Amelia glanced around again. "Well, we don't really know…" Then, she spotted an older looking camper making her way past the cabin. "Hey! Maybe we can ask her!"

* * *

Hazel shielded her eyes from the sun as she looked ahead of her, trying to see where Finn had gone off to. Her thoughts were interrupted when a trio of girls came up to her.

"Hey there! Do you know where camp orientation is?"

Hazel looked down to see three girls, two of them almost completely identical, staring back up at her. She blinked, having been taken off-guard. "Um, I've heard they're going to be gathering underneath the flagpole at the center of camp." She pointed in the general direction in which all the other campers were headed. She looked back down. "And you three are…?"

"I'm Dorothy, and this is my sister, Amelia."

"And we are the Carter Twins!" The two girls smiled and struck a pose.

Hazel blinked. Why did the name 'Carter' sound so familiar to her? Then, it struck her. "Wait," she knelt down to look at them closely, "are you two by any chance related to Maxwell, the magician?"

Dorothy and Amelia exchanged amused looks. "Related?" Amelia giggled. "More like he's our dad!"

Hazel blinked again. _Dad never told me he had kids_. She thought to herself. "Oh," she said aloud, "so, are you two his only kids?"

"Nope!" Dorothy grinned. "Our older brother's here at the camp too!"

"Older brother?" Hazel raised an eyebrow. How many kids did this man have?

"Dorothy? Amelia? Is everything alright?"

Hazel's thoughts were interrupted by another voice. She stood up, and came face-to-face with a boy who looked as surprised as she felt.

His dark eyes stared at her in confusion, and he had messy, dark hair that looked like it was always in his face.

She took a step back, giving him some personal space.

Marcus watched her for a moment, then looked down at his sisters. "What are you two up to?"

Dorothy grinned. "Hi Marcus! We were just asking for directions to orientation!"

Marcus looked back to Hazel. "And, I'm assuming you gave them directions?"

Hazel stared at him for a moment. So _he_ was the Carter boy. "Yes, I did." She replied curtly, then picked up her suitcase. "In fact, I was just leaving to go there now." She turned on her heel and walked further into camp, not waiting for a response.

Marcus stared at her for a moment, then looked back down at his sisters. "What was that all about?"

"Dunno." Amelia shrugged. "Oh! Marcus, this is Aimée."

Aimée walked up to him. "Bonjour, Marcus."

"Bonjour?" Marcus knelt down. "Are you from France?"

She nodded. "I live in Paris with my family."

Marcus stood back up. "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Aimée. Would you like to come with us to orientation?"

Aimée smiled. "I'd love to!"

"Let's go!" Dorothy and Amelia chirped in unison.

Together, they turned as a group and walked into the camp. Marcus smiled at his sisters, glad they were able to make a friend already.

As they walked together, his mind kept going back to the short conversation he had with that girl. Why did she act like that? He sighed, maybe he'd find out eventually.

* * *

 **In case anyone's wondering, Aimée is the youngest daughter of Wigfrid and Wes. She has an older brother name Wayland, but he might not be appearing in this story. Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 is finally here folks! Tensions continue to rise between our two main characters as camp finally gets started! This chapter's a little shorter than the last one, but we'll be diving into the thick of the story very soon! Enjoy!**

* * *

Finn tossed his luggage onto the bottom bunk bed. Might as well get the unpacking process done while he had time.

He had gotten his suitcase open and had started going through his clothes when he heard the front door of the cabin open.

A tall, lanky boy, just a few years older than Finn, entered the room.

Finn stood up and walked over to him. "Hey, you staying in this cabin too?"

The boy glanced around him and nodded. "Yep." He reached out his hand. "I'm Marcus."

He took his hand and shook it. "Finn. Nice to meet you."

"Same to you." Marcus replied, then walked over to a bed of his own.

Finn went back to his suitcase and continued unpacking. "So, what do you think of the camp so far?"

"It's…nice, I suppose." Marcus sat down on his bed, unlatching his own suitcase. "I've never been to a summer camp before, so this is a pretty new experience for me."

Finn nodded. "Same here. I mean, I've gone camping lots of times with my family, but this is also my first time at an actual camp."

"Hm." Marcus replied, taking out his books from his suitcase. "My family lives in San Francisco, so I've never been camping before." He set the books in a stack on his bed. "I don't know why my sisters were so excited to come here, but then again, they're kind of excited for everything."

"Really?" Finn smiled slightly. "My sister's here too. She's not so much excited for the camp but rather for the opportunity to show off her girl scouting skills." He tossed out the last of his clothes. "I tried to tell her, 'Hazel, that's not really the reason you should be going to camp,' but she never listens to me."

Marcus nodded, then blinked. _Hazel_? Wasn't that the name of the girl Dorothy and Amelia said they'd spoken to?

He looked to Finn. "Did you say your sister's name was Hazel? I might have met her earlier today."

Finn looked up at him. "Did she have two pigtails, freckles, and a snarky attitude."

"Oh yes."

Finn grinned and looked back down at his belongings. "Yep, that's Hazel alright."

Marcus glanced back at his own stuff. "I don't know if it was something I said or not, but she didn't seem to like me much."

Finn shrugged. "Who knows. She's always been kind of wary of strangers, so maybe she just needs to get used to being around new people."

Marcus nodded, then decided to let the topic slide as he continued unpacking.

* * *

Marcus lay in his bed later that day, flipping through the pages of one of his favorite books. He'd made it through one full day of camp. A personal record, he thought to himself.

His other cabin mates were out and about, leaving him to have a few minutes of peace on his own.

The blessed silence was suddenly broken by a sharp rapping on his window. He jumped slightly, then sighed and put his book down. Who on Earth was doing that?

He sat up and lifted up the window pane, then jumped again as he came face-to-face with one of his younger sisters.

"Hi Marcus!"

"GAH!" He jumped backwards slightly, then grew irritated. "Dorothy? What're you doing here?"

"It's Amelia." She gave him a look.

He sighed. "Fine, Amelia, what are _you_ doing here?"

She gave him a smile. "We were coming to see if you wanted to be on our team for capture-the-flag tonight."

He raised an eyebrow. "Capture the…?" He leaned back on his pillow. "Mia, you know I've never been much of an athlete."

"But it's a camp-wide event, everyone's gotta join!"

"Well, I highly doubt anyone's going to realize that one camper's not participating." He picked up his book again.

"Aw, please Marcus? It'll be fun!" She leaned further into the window.

He sighed again. "That's not the most compelling argument…"

"Pretty please? We won't ask for you for anything else! Plus you can tell Mom and Dad you participated in a camp activity!"

"Or, I could just not and we can say that I did."

She leaned her head on the windowsill. "Marcus, everyone knows you're a horrible liar..."

* * *

"Why did I let them talk me into this? Why, why, _why_?" Marcus mumbled to himself as he trudged through the woods.

They were at least an hour into the capture-the-flag game, and he had no idea who was winning, or who any of this other teammates were. What team was he on again, anyway?

He brought his fingers to his cheek, then glanced at his fingertips. They were stained with red face paint. _Oh right, red._

He continued to trudge through the wooded area. He promised himself he'd travel either to the end of camp, or until it started to get dark. Being caught out here at night was _not_ something he wished to experience.

He was about to give up the ghost on his endeavor, when something in the trees caught his eye. He stopped, then walked up to the trunk of a tree.

Sitting on a branch, at least ten feet off the ground, was a bright blue flag.

He cocked his head slightly at it, then realized what he was looking at. It must have been the opposing team's flag. But how did they get it up that high?

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted when he heard labored breathing right behind him. He quickly whipped around to face this unknown intruder, then paused.

Standing a few feet behind him was the Hazel girl. Her face was covered in red stripes, making her look like some kind of native warrior, and her chest rose and fell as if she had run all the way here.

She quickly frowned as she processed who was in front of him. "Oh, it's you."

Marcus gave her a look. What was her _problem_? "Yes, it's me. What about it?"

She ignored his question and walked up to the tree to stare at the flag.

Not knowing what she was up to, Marcus turned his gaze up to the flag as well.

After a moment of silence, Hazel looked back to Marcus, her expression hard and determined. "Stay out of my way, Carter Kid. I'm gonna win this thing."

He put up his hands defensively, giving her his best glare back. "Of course. Please, by all means. I didn't even want to be here anyway." He looked back up at flag in the branch above them. "But how do expect to get that thing down? It's at least ten feet off the-"

Hazel suddenly leapt up and grabbed onto the lowest branch of the tree, then pulled herself up onto it. Once she was on the first branch, she quickly leapt to the next-highest one, and then the next. She glanced down at Marcus, a small smirk on her face.

Marcus watched her for a good minute before he realized his mouth was hanging open. He quickly shut it, then scoffed at her before rolling his eyes. So she could climb trees, big whoop.

Hazel gingerly leapt onto the last branch and undid the knot that held the flag in place. She casually leaned up against the trunk, giving Marcus another smug grin. "You see?" She twirled the flag around. "Easy as-"

 _SNAP!_

Hazel let out a cry of surprise as the branch she was standing on suddenly gave out from underneath her feet.

Marcus's eyes widened as he rushed to the base of the tree. "H-hang on! I've got y- OOF!" He was cut short when Hazel's body suddenly collided with his own, sending both of them to the ground.

He tried to regain his bearings as the wind was knocked out of him, and lifted his head up, then immediately felt his face go red. She was lying on top of him.

Hazel gave a small groan and lifted her own head, only to go wide-eyed as she processed who she was looking at.

The sounds of yells and footsteps broke their awkward silence, and both turned their heads in the direction of the noise.

Sprinting through the woods, coming right for them, were at least three campers wearing bright blue face paint.

Hazel suddenly remembered they were in a capture-the-flag game. She quickly scrambled to her feet and stepped over Marcus, then made a mad dash in the opposite direction of the pursuing campers.

Marcus didn't need to be told what to do. He leapt to his feet as quickly as he could and followed Hazel, leaping over fallen branches and dodging bushes.

He sprinted as fast as he could, but the blue team was still gaining on him. Hazel was a few meters ahead of him, obviously far more experienced when it came to running long distances.

Suddenly, another body collided with him and brought him to the ground once again. His body skidded to a halt in the dirt as the wind was knocked out of him again. He glanced up to see one of the blue team members standing triumphantly over him.

"Thought you could get away, huh red?" The camper kid smiled a gap-toothed grin at him.

Hazel glanced back momentarily the moment she heard Marcus hit the ground. She was about to turn back to continue running when her foot hit a rock in her moment of distraction, and she tumbled to the ground as well.

Before she could get back up, another blue team member caught up to her and snatched the flag out of her hand. "Nice try there, guys." The boy scoffed at her.

Marcus lifted himself up off the ground, still wheezing slightly from the fall and spitting out dirt.

The blue team members gathered their flag and jogged back off into the woods, leaving the defeated red players in the dirt together.

Hazel stared momentarily at the blue team as they disappeared with their flag, then glared and stood back up. She stomped over to Marcus, then pulled him up to his feet. "You _imbecile_!"

Marcus gaped at her as he brushed himself off. "What? How on _Earth_ was this my fault?!"

"If you hadn't distracted me I could've _won_!" She frowned intensely at him.

"Well if you hadn't gotten all carried away with the fancy tree-climbing maybe you wouldn't have fallen in the first place!" He stuck a finger towards her.

Hazel was practically fuming with anger now, her cheeks bright red. "You… You… Fraidy-cat!"

He blinked, then scowled at her. "Pig tails!"

"MOP HEAD!"

"FRECKLE FACE!"

"FINE!" She turned from him and stormed off, mumbling words that Marcus couldn't make out.

He glared daggers into her back until she disappeared, then turned and stomped back towards the trail to camp, kicking the occasional branch along the way. "This means _war_ …" He grumbled to himself as he trudged back to his cabin.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello again everyone! It's been ages, I know, but Chapter 3 is finally here! Major thanks to everyone who has been patient while waiting for me to update this thing! It warms my heart to see that people like these characters and want to read more about them. So, without further ado, on with the chapter!**

* * *

Marcus slept restlessly that night, still silently fuming over the ordeal that had gone down between him and that… _Hazel girl_. He wanted to sneer every time her name came up in his head. If he saw her once more for the rest of the camp session, it would be too soon.

But alas, it seemed the Fates were not yet done with him.

It was two days later, a Friday Cleanup Day, in which campers were assigned to different clean-up duties around the camp. Marcus walked up to the large corkboard posted outside the main cabin, and his stomach immediately lurched.

Written right next to his name, was 'Hazel Higgsbury.' Of all the campers in this place, how did he manage to end up with _her_ again?

He followed the list up to the top to see what job they had been assigned to, and his stomach did another flip. _Barn Duty._

If Marcus had to pick any animal he was legitimately terrified of, it was horses.

Why anyone would ever wish to willingly be around these creatures, let alone _ride_ them, he would never know.

He glanced out at the group of equines grazing out in their pasture as he swept the barn floor. Just look at them, with their massive hooves and gnashing teeth, with jaws so strong they could bite your fingers right off. He averted his gaze, suppressing a shudder.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of another broom sweeping behind him.

"You know horses won't hurt you, right?"

He rolled his eyes at the sound of the voice. He didn't have to turn around to know who it was.

Hazel set aside her broom and strolled up to him. "I mean, they're herbivores."

He scoffed, trying to act nonchalant as he continued to sweep the floor. "Of course I know that, why do you ask?"

"Well, you've been staring at them like they're a pack of jaguars this entire time." She retrieved up her broom and continued sweeping. "You're not scared, are you?"

He stopped momentarily to give her a look. "Of what? Horses?" He snorted again, resuming his sweeping. "Course not…" He was not going to let this obnoxious, freckle-faced girl get the best of him.

It was Hazel's turn to scoff. "Sure, whatever you say."

He stopped sweeping again and turned to face her. "Are you saying you don't believe me?"

She stopped sweeping and crossed her arms. "No, as a matter of fact, I don't."

He gave her his best glare. "Well, believe whatever you want Miss Hazel, but I am _not_ afraid of horses."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh really?"

"Really."

"Then why don't you prove it?"

He opened his mouth to retort, then paused. "…What?"

"You heard me, _prove_ it." She gave him a slight, devilish smile. "Go find a horse, and prove that you're not scared of them."

His stomach felt like it was turning itself inside-out, but he swallowed hard and put on a stern face. "Alright. I will."

He set his broom on the ground and glanced around for the nearest horse. It'd be best to get this over and done with quickly.

One of the horses had made its way up to the edge of the fence, curious as to what the two people standing there were doing.

Marcus took sight of it, and swallowed again. _Here goes nothing_. He walked towards it, stopping for just a moment to rip a handful of grass from the ground. _Okay Marcus, you can do this, just hold your hand flat, fingers together. Hand flat, fingers together…_

The chestnut-colored horse flicked its ears forward as Marcus approached it, already eyeing the grass in his hand.

Hazel stood a few feet away, her arms still crossed, watching him closely.

He gave her one more stern glance, then looked back at the horse. "H-Hey, horsey…" He held the grass out to the animal with his palm flat.

As soon as the grass was within reach, the horse reached its neck forward and nibbled the grass out of Marcus's hand.

Marcus clenched his jaw and held as still as he could. As soon as the grass was gone from his hand, he brought it away from the horse's head and turned to face Hazel, taking several steps away from the fence as he did so. "See? Totally _not_ afraid."

Hazel raised her eyebrows and nodded very slightly. "Yeah, you fed grass to a horse… Real valiant of you."

He crossed his arms and glared at her. "You don't sound convinced."

She shrugged her shoulders. "You got me, I'm not."

He shook his head and sighed. "I fed a horse, what _else_ could you possibly want me to do?" He regretted that statement the moment he'd said it.

She gave him another devilish smile. "I want you to ride one."

He prayed his face did not betray him to the fear and surprise he felt.

"That's right." She continued. "I want you to get a horse, saddle it up, and _ride_ it."

His stubbornness was going to get him killed one day and he knew it. Nonetheless, he quickly masked his panic with another scoff. "Please. I almost thought you were going to give me a challenge."

She sneered back at him. "Cut the talk and go get the horse, Mophead."

* * *

Of all the things he wasn't expecting when it came to riding a horse, he really didn't expect it to be this _high_.

He gripped the reigns in his hands as the horse shook its mane, patiently waiting for her rider to give a command. He tensed again, fighting the urge to look down. He may as well have been standing at the top of a skyscraper with how high up this felt.

Hazel leaned up on the fence outside of the arena, her hand resting on her cheek.

Aimée, who had been on her way to the barn, had decided to stop by and watch as well. She sat on the top of the railing, watching as Marcus continued to sit on the horse in the middle of the arena. She glanced over at Hazel. "Has Marcus ever ridden a horse before?"

Hazel shrugged. "He acts like he has, but I wouldn't count on that." She cupped her hand over her mouth like a megaphone. "Hey Carter Boy! You can go ahead and do something now, we're getting bored over here."

Marcus took his eyes off the horse to glance over at the two-person peanut gallery. He couldn't look like a fool in front of Hazel now, no matter how much he hated sitting on top of the creature he feared the most. He took a deep breath, and lightly tapped his heels against the horse's sides.

The horse perked up and began to amble forward. Marcus tensed up again as they walked to the edge of the rail and began following it around the arena.

They made one full circle around the arena at a walk. Marcus glanced at Hazel and Aimée as they walked past, giving Hazel another smirk before looking back down the neck of his horse. Surprisingly, this wasn't too bad.

He glanced back at the girls. "Well? Are you convinced now?"

"…Almost." Hazel called back to him. "There's just one more thing I'd like to see you do."

He fought the urge to make a snarky comment on how nothing would ever be good enough for her. "And that is?"

"I wanna see you trot."

His stomach lurched again. Did she mean trot as in, _trot?_ As in, the gait that was much bouncier and faster than a walk?

"What's the matter? Too scared to do it?"

He glanced back at her again. "No, just… Preparing myself."

Hazel rolled her eyes in response.

Marcus looked back to his horse and sighed. He was too far into this to back out now. All they had to do was trot. Just once.

He gripped the reins tightly, and tapped his heels into the mare's sides.

He must've asked too intensely. The moment his heels came in contact with her, the horse surged forward at a brisk trot, which threw Marcus completely off balance. He slipped backwards and out of the saddle, then toppled off the horse and landed face-first on the ground.

All he could hear was Hazel's wheezing laughter, and a younger voice calling out to him. "Monsieur? Are you dead?"

Something tapped the side of his skull, and he quickly lifted his head up. Aimée stood over him, looking rather relieved. "Oh good, you're not dead."

He was about to respond, when a hot breath of air hit the back of his neck. He scrambled to his feet and backed several feet away from the mare who had come up behind him. He clutched at his chest, then exhaled and spat out dirt as he walked past Aimée and towards the fence, his pride having taken a massive blow.

Hazel was still doubling over with laughter on the other side. "Wow! I don't even…!" She held her stomach as she laughed again. "That was even better than anything I could've expected!"

He didn't bother to respond as he climbed through the fence and trudged past her.

Aimée led the horse up to the edge of rail by its reins. "Marcus? You forgot your horse!"

Hazel finally recovered from the laughing fit and stood back up to her full height. "Hey, she's got a point. Where are you going? You just got started riding!" She called out to Marcus's back.

Marcus clenched his jaw and whipped back around to face her. "You know what? No. I've had enough. I've had enough of horses, I've had enough of barn duty, and most of all, I've had enough of YOU!" He jabbed a finger in Hazel's direction.

Hazel scoffed and crossed her arms. "Jeez, angry are we?"

Marcus inhaled sharply, then exhaled again. She wasn't worth the trouble. "Look, I don't know what your problem is with me, and I really don't care. And if I see you again for this entire month I'm here then so help me-!"

"Marcus?"

He paused, then turned around to see his twin sisters staring at him.

Dorothy blinked. "Were you yelling at Hazel?"

"Also, were you riding a horse?" Amelia chimed in.

Marcus stared at them silently, then sighed. "Yes, to the second question… I was riding a horse. But I'm done now, so don't ask me to get back on. In fact…" He unhooked the buckle underneath his chin and took off his helmet. "Why don't you two go and ride?" He walked up to them and placed the helmet in their hands. "Sound good?"

Amelia stared down at the helmet in her arms. "Um-"

"Excellent. Have fun you two." Marcus quickly walked past them and onto the nearest path leading away from the barn, not waiting for a response.

The twins watched their brother disappear along the path, then turned back to Hazel. "Uh, what was that all about?" Dorothy inquired.

"No clue at all." Hazel bluffed, shrugging her shoulders. "We've got a horse ready to go if you wanna ride, though."

Amelia glanced down at the helmet in her hands, then shrugged. "Sure! Why not?" The twins trotted over towards the horse standing next to Aimée in the arena.

Hazel followed close behind them at first, then quickened her pace to walk alongside them. "Why is your brother such a wet blanket?"

Amelia glanced up at her. "A what?"

"You know, a wet blanket." She motioned with her hands. "He dresses like a nerd, he's scared of horses… I just really don't think summer camp is the place for him."

Dorothy shrugged. "Honestly, we kinda thought that too. Our parents made him come here with us."

"Yeah." Amelia nodded. "They said he was spending too much time indoors, or something like that."

Hazel scoffed slightly. "I could understand why..."

* * *

Finn sat on the edge of the small dock on the lake, a fishing rod propped up beside him. It wasn't the most interesting way to spend the time at summer camp, but it was something.

His thoughts were cut short when he heard footsteps approaching from behind. He glanced over his shoulder, then managed a small grin. "Hey Marcus. Where've you been all morning?"

Marcus trudged up to the edge of the dock. His dark hair was even more tussled than usual and the front of his shirt was covered with dirt. "Oh, you know…" He sat down next to Finn. "Just got back from barn duty…"

Finn nodded. "I saw on the board that you were with Hazel… How'd it go?"

"Oh… You know… It went…" Marcus lied the best he could.

Finn gave him a slight look. "It's okay. You can be truthful about what Hazel did. I don't mind."

Marcus paused for a moment, then wrung his hands. "She's just so…." He gesticulated for the right word. "Infuriating!"

Finn laughed softly. "Welcome to my life."

"No, I mean, I'm pretty convinced she's out to end my life." Marcus retorted. "Or a least make it as miserable as she possibly can."

"Oh really? What'd she do?"

Marcus slumped, running a hand through his hair. "I'd rather not talk about it… Let's just say that she humiliated me on purpose, and then tried to play innocent about a minute later." He looked down at the rippling water below them. "I mean, really, what is her problem? I never did _anything_ to make her hate me."

Finn shrugged as he reeled in his line. "Yeah, I agree. It seems out of character even for her." He checked the bait, then tossed the hook back out into the water. "If Hazel doesn't like someone, she's usually got a good reason."

Marcus looked at him "Are you suggesting that I did something to make her dislike me?"

Finn returned his glance. "Oh no, no. I'm just saying that as a fact." He looked back out over the lake. "So you're sure that you didn't do anything to offend her. What about your parents? Did they ever do anything to ours?"

Marcus blinked. "…Um, no? I don't think so. They've never mentioned a Higgsbury family before." He turned to face Finn. "But just for argument's sake, why do you ask?"

Finn gave another small shrug. "Oh, it's just something our dad's told us about before. Our parents used to know a guy who made some really crooked deals with them. Said that he tricked them both and stranded them on a deserted island."

Marcus rested his chin on his hand, just partially listening as he studied the landscape.

"They got off, obviously, but my dad's despised that guy ever since. He said he was really condescending, always wore a suit and had a cigar, called everyone 'pal'…"

Marcus nodded, then blinked. "What was his name?"

"Maxwell, I think."

He froze. _Maxwell_? The same as his father's stage name?

Finn felt a tug on his line and began to reel the hook in again. "Kinda sounds like a tall tale to me, but Hazel really took it to heart."

Marcus hardly heard Finn's last sentence, his mind was already reeling at this new information. Could it be a coincidence? His father never mentioned anyone named 'Higgsbury' before, but what about Hazel's behavior towards him? Could this all be related somehow?

"Marcus? You okay there?"

He blinked. "S-sorry what?"

Finn was leaning forward slightly, giving him a concerned look. "You kinda spaced out for a minute."

"Oh, yeah…" He leaned back, trying to look nonchalant. "I'm fine."

"Alright, good to know." Finn reeled his line the rest of the way in. "Cause look at what I caught while you were out." He held up the line to reveal a small fish dangling at the end of it.

Marcus forced a smile. "Wow, nice job."

"Thanks." He unhooked the fish from the line and tossed it back into the water. "So yeah, anyway, if you ever find out what's eating Hazel, feel free to let me know."

"Yeah… Sure." Marcus turned to continue staring at the lake, his mind still swimming with this newfound information.

* * *

He wanted to find his sisters and talk with them that evening. They'd spend most of the day with Hazel, so maybe they'd have some inside information.

It wasn't until after they didn't show up for evening activities that he became concerned. Dorothy and Amelia _never_ missed out on the evening games, so where on Earth could they have been?

He sat on the steps of the main cabin, mulling over all the possible places they could be until realization struck him. _Hazel_. He'd left his sisters with her at the barn, so maybe they were still with her. Grumbling to himself, he rose to his feet and made a beeline for the girls' side of camp.

A pair of female campers giggled to each other as he walked past them, making him quickly avert his eyes to the ground. _Just ignore them_.

He quickly located Hazel's cabin and trotted up the steps, raising a hand to knock, only to be cut short when the door suddenly opened on its own.

And lo and behold, it was her. Hazel swung open the door, and froze. She had a rag pressed to her nose, but quickly lowered it the moment she saw him.

Marcus blinked and awkwardly lowered his hand, his eyes traveling to the rag at her side. It was stained with a red patch of blood. "I, um…"

Hazel's surprise quickly turned to annoyance. "And what, pray tell, are _you_ doing here?" She narrowed her eyes at him.

He brought his eyes back up to meet her gaze. She had a purple bruise on her left cheek. "I…" He cleared his throat and straightened his stance. "I was coming to ask if you'd seen my sisters."

She raised an eyebrow, scoffing. "The twins? Pft. No. Why would they be with me?"

"Well, they've been hanging out with you all day." He shot back. "That and I haven't seen them all evening."

"Well, no. I haven't seen them." Hazel retorted, leaning against the doorway. "But since we're on the subject, have you seen Finn anywhere?"

 _Finn_? Marcus thought briefly. "Not since this afternoon… Why?"

She rolled her eyes. "Why do you think? I haven't seen him all day either, and I figured he'd be with you."

"No, he's not."

"So you can't find your sisters… And I can't find my brother." Hazel pinched the bridge of her nose. "This doesn't make any sense, why would _both_ of our siblings be missing at the same time?"

Marcus ran a hand through his hair, racking his brain for possibilities. Then, his eyes widened. "Oh no…" He stepped onto the cabin porch.

"What?" Hazel followed him.

He put his hands on the railing. "Dorothy and Amelia were talking about going monster hunting out in the woods during the drive here..."

"So?"

"Mom and Dad said they couldn't go out there alone, so maybe they took Finn with them."

Hazel raised an eyebrow for the second time. "I'm not really sure how your deductive reasoning works… But you really think they would've ventured out into the woods to go 'monster hunting?'" She made quotation marks with her fingers.

He turned his head to give her a look. "You do not know Dorothy and Amelia well enough. If they say they are going to do something, they will. No matter what."

Hazel raised her hands. "Okay, alright! No need to bite my head off…" She turned to glance up at the sky. "Well, if they really did go out to the woods, we'd better go try and find them."

Marcus stood back up to his full height. "Wait, you mean now? Where would we even start?"

She furrowed her brow. "The lake. There are some trails on the other side of it." She quickly darted back inside the cabin, and emerged a few minutes later with a coat and a lantern. "You can either join me or not, Mophead."

He rolled his eyes. "Of course I'm coming, they're my sisters." He followed her down the cabin steps and towards the direction of the lake. He despised the idea of having to work with Hazel for the second time that day, but she clearly knew more about the woods than he did.

Hazel quickened her pace as they walked. "We'll have to move fast if we want to find them. It'll be dark in a few hours."

Marcus felt his stomach do another flip. _Dark_ … He'd forgotten how close it was to being nighttime. The last thing he wanted to be was in the woods at night, away from any civilization. "Right, of course…" He swallowed and continued to follow her towards the lake.


End file.
